A system in which a client, such as a web browser and a server communicate with each other, using the HTTP protocol and the like, is known in the art. For example, the client, such as a web browser, issues a request to the server using the HTTP protocol, or the like, and the like and the server performs a process corresponding to the request. The server balances loads when a large volume of request is issued from the client and the processing load which corresponds to the requests is large.
An NLB (Network Load Balancing), which is one of functions in the server products of the Windows OS by Microsoft Inc., is a known technology of distributing loads. The NLB is a technology of implementing a cluster configuration including a plurality of servers (each server is called a node) which perform processes according to requests, and appropriately distributing a job to the plurality of nodes that actually performs the process, in accordance with the volume of requests (a grouping of the requests is called a job) from a client. The technology is a technology that is generally used for web servers and the like which process access from a large number of web browsers.
However, the technology is a technology that is used under the assumption that the processes do not consume a large amount of resources of the servers. In the related art, even if malfunction (trouble) occurs in a node (a first node in the plurality of nodes) while the first node performs a predetermined process, it is possible to relatively easily perform the predetermined process, using another node (a second node in the plurality of nodes).
An image processing system where an MFP, such as an image processing apparatus, is connected by a web technology usually processes relatively large-sized data (image data). That is, the servers of the image processing system usually perform a process that consumes a large amount of resources. Assuming that large-sized data is processed, when malfunction (trouble) occurs in a node (a first node in the plurality of nodes) of the image processing system while the first node performs a predetermined process, it is required to reuse as much as possible the process result of the predetermined process obtained until the malfunction occurs in the first node. That is, it is required to perform the predetermined process, using another node (a second node in the plurality of nodes), by reusing the process result of the predetermined process obtained until the malfunction occurs in the first node, in the second node.